Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Since I write about TV so much, I thought I would share my thoughts on some of the new shows this season.

Studio 60 on the Sunset StripI liked Sports Night and the first few seasons of West Wing, so naturally, I like Studio 60 too. Matthew Perry is extremely underrated as a comedic actor, so it’s nice seeing him in a role other than Chandler.

SharkAfter Grey’s Anatomy last Thursday, I had a choice between Shark and Six Degrees. I’m a fan of James Woods, so I thought I would give Shark a shot. Woods is perfect as an arrogant trial lawyer. While I’m not sure how often I’ll watch it, I recommend Shark especially since it seems like the type of show where you won’t be lost if you miss an episode (unlike many new shows this season).

SmithI’ll always like Ray Liotta for being Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, one of the greatest movies of all-time. The combination of Liotta and the first episode being partially filmed in Pittsburgh made Smith a must-watch. While I didn’t think it was as bad Sarah thought it was, it wasn’t great. I thought I would give the second episode a try last night and again was under whelmed. Here’s my problem with the show. Liotta leads a group of thieves which includes Amy Smart. You want to root for the bad guys, but the show doesn’t let you. In the first episode, Smart tazered a random woman who thought she looked familiar and the group killed a security guard and possibly some other people (I think this happened but I was on the phone for a few minutes). Last night, Smart and two other guys pulled off a major theft of computer files. Yeah, like I’m going to root for people who pull off a major identity theft.

Conversely, you root for the guys on Prison Break (except for T-Bag, but at least he’s an intriguing character) because they all have redeeming values or were incorrectly imprisoned. While Prison Break is still great, I have no idea how long this show can continue.

Flavor of LoveNot a new show, but I thought I would mention it. I didn’t think the first season could be topped but the second is definitely making a nice run. I actually haven’t watched Flavor of Love much this season, but caught a repeat last night. New York is back. Oh last night, Flavor kicked out a girl because she’s a “pole dancer” and he couldn’t bring her back to meet his kids. I’m sure that his kids are very proud of their dad over the past few years.

Monday, September 25, 2006

A friend forwarded me this article about a stolen garden gnome that attended the Steelers' home opener and has previously been arrested and requested bail money. Travelocity is a big fan of "Gnomey." Seriously.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

I wore my Louis Lipps jersey and Heinz pickle watch with my Terrible Towel today but that alone could not overcome the five turnovers by the Steelers against the Bengals. What a frustrating game. If you told me before the game that Willie Parker would run for 133 yards and two touchdowns, the Steelers defense would force three turnovers and have six sacks, Chad Johnson would have only one catch for eleven yards and Rudi Johnson would have 47 yards rushing with neither Johnson scoring a TD, I would have thought that would be an easy Steelers victory.

Why does a high school football team with Michael Vick, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Urlacher, Troy Polamalu and coached by Don Shula and Jimmy Johnson (I assume he’s an assistant coach as well as a teacher) need a last second trick-play to win the game in the Nike commercial? With that much talent, and playing against high school kids, they should dominate. I really blame the defense for giving up the last-second touchdown. Did they really expect a running play with only 15 second left and Vick’s team down by more than a field goal and on around the opponents’ 40 yard-line? The safeties should have been on their own 10 yard-line!

Congrats to Woodland Hills High School on a big win against Central Catholic and Pitt on defeating The Citadel. Ithaca College, ranked #11 coming into the game, didn’t do so well against St. John Fisher.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

From Thursday, September 21 to Wednesday, September 27, I am extremely important to you. I am part of the Arbitron radio ratings which helps measure radio audiences and produce the ratings reports. I'm also probably in your most important age demographic: 18-34. So if you're a radio station or program looking for a boost in ratings, I'm here to help (for the right price)!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Earlier today, the Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York and have successfully taken over Bangkok. I should mention that, as long as no one gets hurt, I really like coups. It's probably because "coup" is a cool word, and not one that seems to fit with a military takeover. (Yes, I know coup comes from the French phrase "coup d'état.") Anyway, my favorite part of this coup is the quote from the Thai military, "We ask for the cooperation of the public and ask your pardon for the inconvenience." Doesn't that sound like something you would hear if your flight or Metro is delayed? I just hope that this remains peaceful since and I quote Murray Head, one night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble and the tough guys tumble.

For more serious details about the story, click here for The Washington Post's article.

I want to apologize for the Steelers loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last night. Some people might credit the stifling Jacksonville defense and the effective Jags offense who, although only scored 9 points, dominated the time of possession (37:25 to 22:35) and seemed to convert on nearly every big third down. Some people may criticize the Steelers defense for giving up 362 total yards or the offense for only getting 26 rushing yards and 153 total yards. I'm sure that's what you will hear on talk radio today.

In actuality, it's my fault. I wasn't wearing my Louis Lipps jersey or any other Steelers geaer. I wasn't even wearing my Heinz pickle watch. Apparently, just having my Terrible Towel isn't enough. Lesson learned, and I'll be more prepared next week.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Two of my favorite things are fantasy sports leagues and television. Thanks to JQ, I learned that both of these interests can be combined through The Alison LaPlaca Open Television Death Pool. Now in it's seventh year, the LaPlaca Open is a contest to see who can guess how many TV shows will be cancelled during the 2006-2007 season. To be eligible, a show must air sometime between September 1, 2006 and August 31, 2007 on any of the big five commercial networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW), and presumed not to air a first-run episode after August 31, 2007.

What About Brian had 6 episodes in the spring and had poor ratings. However, since this show is produced or created by J.J. Abrams (of Lost), I think ABC decided to give it another try in part to keep Abrams happy. I think the ratings have spoken, and there is no chance it will make it to the 2007-2008 TV season.

Of the picks above, I'm a little worried about Kidnapped and The Knights of Prosperity. Kidnapped looks exactly like the movie "Ransom" with Mel Gibson but NBC seems to be hyping the show and it looks decent. The Knights of Prosperity was originally going to be called "Let's Rob Mick Jagger" (or something like that) and still has a terrible title. The show stars Donal Logue (who I like) and, in seeing a preview tonight, looks funny.

I really, really, really hope The War at Home gets cancelled. This may be the worst show on TV.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

You have probably noticed that except for two sentences about commercials that I'm already tired of, I haven't written much in the past week. I'll try to make up for that over the next few days, starting tonight.

* The football teams I follow most are off to great starts. The Steelers are 1-0 and Pitt, Ithaca College and Ohio State are all 2-0.

* I am in four separate fantasy football leagues this season and had a 2-2 weekend. In the two leagues I care about most, I'm 1-1.

* I watched VH1's Behind the Music: Nick Lachey edition. Did you know that 98° was originally signed by Motown? Did you also know that Lachey was married to Jessica Simpson?

* "Men in Trees" with Anne Heche debuts tonight on ABC. Why is this important? I picked this show as one of ten that won't make it to next season. (I'll write more about this later.)

* I can't believe I'm watching "Dancing with the Stars," although it is quite funny watching dance judges ridicule Tucker Carlson. His scores: 5, 4 and 3. I haven't really watched this show before, so is this out of 10?

Sunday, September 10, 2006

The first week of the NFL season is not yet complete, but I'm already tired of GM's "Floating Cars" commercial and the Coors commercials featuring former NFL coaches Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil. They are starting to make me miss the days of the gellin'/zinfandelin commercials.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

This picture of Evgeni Malkin makes me laugh. First, why of all pictures, is the Post-Gazette using this one? Second, Malkin, along with Sidney Crosby, is the future of the team and will hopefully lead the Penguins back to the Stanley Cup. However, I worry that since Malkin seems to be having trouble getting his jersey on, how will he do on the ice? From this picture, Mario Lemieux may be thinking the same thing.

Two months after the World Cup ended, Zinedine Zidane's head-butt in the Italy-France final is still making news. Yesterday, the Italian defender Marco Materazzi who was on the receiving end of the head-butt spoke out. According to Materazzi, he tugged on Zidane's shirt who said "If you want my shirt so much I'll give it to you afterwards." Materazzi's reply: "I'd prefer your sister." That's a pretty funny reply. Maybe not as good as the George Costanza's jerk store line, but not bad. However, why do I think that maybe Materazzi is telling the entire story. Was that line really worth a head-butt? I can't see Joey Porter responding like that to a "I'd prefer your sister" line.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

This is Sean’s wife for a brief side commentary. What is it like to visit Michael’s craft store with Sean? Well…it is very amusing! I wanted to make a brief visit to see if I could possibly come up with a craft to do in my spare time. Sean went directly to the Halloween area. He had done this before while we were looking for fake flower arrangements a few weeks ago.

In the Halloween area my wonderful husband began pushing all the buttons of the toys that made noises. Basically, the sounds were the ones you may hear while trick or treating. He would push the buttons or even step in front of the toys and then proceeded to laugh.

Our visit yesterday topped everything. Sean proceeded to put on a cat ear headband and purr like a cat. (Sean’s note: I did not purr.)

It was quite cute, even if he got a few dirty looks from other customers.

Sunday, September 03, 2006

I can't believe I'm writing about this. I went to Hair Cuttery yesterday for a haircut, and they were really trying to sell me Nioxin shampoo, which apparently helps with hair loss (hopefully with slowing hair loss). A small bottle of this stuff is $12. $12?!?! I refuse to spend that much for shampoo. I don't have enough hair to spend $12 on shampoo!

So I'm now writing to look for shampoo suggestions. I have used Pert Plus (shampoo and conditioner in one!) for many years now, but I wonder if there is a better product out there that may help reduce hair loss but does not $12 per bottle? I apologize if I'm sounding like Tony Kornheiser with his hair/lack of hair stories. Any suggestions?

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor died last night from his battle with brain cancer. While this is obviously all over the place in Western Pennsylvania, I just happened to discover that Mayor O'Connor passed away by checking the Post-Gazette website late yesterday. Mayor O'Connor had only been on the job for 8 months and was truly passionate about serving the city. He had wanted to be the mayor for nearly a decade before being elected last year.

While the city is mourning the loss of O'Connor, the focus is slowly (or maybe even quickly) being turned to Council President and now Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, 26. He has some big shoes to fill and fairly or unfairly will be under the microscope because of his age.

Sean's Ramblings Is Everywhere

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Welcome to Sean's Ramblings! If you're looking for thoughts on pop culture, music, fun and informative links, random DC and Pittsburgh info, sports (particularly Pittsburgh sports), and just what's going on in my life, then you're come to the right place.
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